CHAPTER VII AUTOSUGGESTION
What It Is
A suggestion is an intimation, hint, idea, thought or something similar, conveyed either
through the physical senses--hearing, seeing, smelling, touching, tasting--or direct from mind to mind--that is, telepathically. An autosuggestion, of course, is a suggestion to one's self by one's self.
The suggestion of environment--that of Auto- suggestion is with most people frequently stronger than any other.
Talking to One's Self
With most people, autosuggestion is clearly stronger than any other. It is a case "sez I to myself, sez I." It is a means by which we may treat ourselves. When we learn the art of Autosuggestion, we can almost perfectly control our own conditions. Everybody can at least to a certain degree influence himself for good. The faculty for developing and accepting autosuggestion, is readily cultivated. It is like everything else--Practice makes Perfect.
Those who fail in autosuggestion, fail partially or totally because they do not do the work well.
That is why we strongly urge those who do not make a success of autosuggestion to employ the services of some practitioner who will lend needed help to get the sub-conscious mind to do work the conscious desires.
It is not enough to give ourselves a passing thought now and then, just a little time snatched from other interests. It is the same as visualizing. It is the predominating thought which in the end prevails. Autosuggestion must be practiced regularly, with interest, fervor, and
persistence.
If we expect to accomplish much by autosuggestion, we must give it our undivided attention at stated intervals and continue each effort for at least twenty minutes some authorities say, then longer, from thirty minutes to one hour each day in cases where the conditions require
immediate and radical changes.
The length of time, however, will depend some- what upon individual temperament, the type of the subject.
"Where people thus earnestly engage to employ autosuggestion, and keep it up, persevere in it from day to day, from week to week, or even from month to month, they can absolutely over- come any adverse condition or habit where a cure is yet possible by any known means on earth.''
It is now generally accepted by academician psychologists that by autosuggestion we can make ourselves what we want to be. We can change our futures, our anatomy, our form and
our appearance. We can relieve ourselves of pain, heal our diseases, and keep ourselves well. A great medical suggestionist tells us that
We can improve any or all of our mental faculties, cultivate ready memories, personal
magnetism, and make ourselves brave and courageous; gain perfect control over our tastes, appetites and passions, and absolutely attain business and professional success in any direction that our tendencies lead us.
We only have to determine what we want to be, or what we want to do, then go at it in earnest, do the work regularly and continuously, and success is the reward of our efforts.
It is what we think we can do, and what we say to ourselves we can do that we can surely do.
Fremont said to himself, "I can find a path over the Rocky Mountains upon which a railroad can be built connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts." The path was found and the road was built.
Napoleon said to himself, "I can cross the Alps," and Napoleon did cross the Alps.
Now the behavior and successes of these great men should be living examples for us. They should serve as powerful suggestions, and when great responsibilities face us, or when seemingly difficult tasks are placed before us, we should say to ourselves, "I can and I will cross the Alps," and then undertake the work in hand with the same zeal and determination that characterized Napoleon's march, and pursue it persistently to the end, and success is absolutely assured at whatever we may undertake.
Autosuggestion is talking to ourselves, and when we are talking to ourselves, we are talking to our subconscious mind. By the regular and persistent practice of talking to ourselves, we can perform marvelous things in our health, success and happiness and in shaping our destinies.
We can work out our salvation by talking to ourselves. As we mentioned in the chapter upon the subconscious mind, it is the omniscient and the omnipotent part of man. It works out our life's problems in such a marvelous way that, were we not intelligent and did we not
understand what takes place, we should simply say that it transcends rational explanation.
The failure is converted into success, by autosuggestion. The sick are made well. The discouraged become buoyant and optimistic. The downcast and downhearted become hopeful and faithful. By autosuggestion he who has lost his grip again gets a hold on life and does more than he ever dreamed he could. The wonders of the power of autosuggestion have not yet half been told.
We can successfully promote great financial enterprises, forward banking, mining, railroad or other important interests, and as someone has said "organize benevolent, temperance, religious, and political associations, establish institutions of learning, and exploit profitable, legitimate enterprises of any kind--do anything that lies within the bounds of human possibility, all by simply holding to the thought, and persistently saying to ourselves, I can and I will!' "
And no matter where the stars may place us. That should not disturb us. While astrology is
founded upon truth, and while the planets have their influence, it is more for good than bad, and we need not suffer from every chilly wind that blows. No, no; we can properly clothe ourselves, absolutely fortify ourselves against all unfriendly stellar influences, push all obstacles out of the way, and attain success in life, either in harmony with, or regardless of the stars. I say to myself, "I can," and I say to myself "I can and I will," and it is done and I am free--independent.
There is another side to autosuggestion, the negative or destructive.
In "Suggestion" the author takes up this side of autosuggestion.
But there is another side to auto-suggestion. While it may be used for good in many ways, and while its possibilities are almost unlimited for accomplishing good and great results, we may so persistently keep our minds upon one subject, and talk to ourselves about some one particular thing to such a degree of excess, that we become mono- maniacs--insane. Or we may indulge in adverse or unfriendly thoughts about ourselves and talk to ourselves about trifling infirmities, till we are worn out and really sick, incapacitated for anything. And if we go on in this way, we may break ourselves down, and actually die prematurely.
We may, by persistently talking to ourselves and our neighbors about our ailments, which at the first may be very simple, change innocent troubles to serious diseases. From the slightest symptoms, we may fix our minds upon what we fear it is going to be, and may so persistently think and talk to ourselves about it, picture in our minds the most serious conditions
imaginable, till the dreaded disease is certainly materialized. In this way unfriendly auto-suggestion leads thousands of people to untimely graves. It is readily seen that in this way people may actually think and talk themselves to death.
People sometimes bring upon themselves sudden disaster by adverse or unfriendly auto-suggestions.
Playing with his friendly dog, a man is slightly bitten, merely scratched by the dog's tooth, but he is frightened, fears hydrophobia, begins to talk about it, pictures in his mind all of the horrors of one suffering from hydrophobia, will not be comforted, but continues to talk to himself about hydrophobia, and he persistently keeps the picture of hydrophobia before him till he actually has fits. The thoughts of hydrophobia, mind pictures continuously kept before the eyes, are finally materialized.
People occasionally kill themselves outright by autosuggestion. In fact we believe there are many cases of this kind if we only knew of them.
On April 1st, 1898, at eight o'clock p. m., I was called in haste to 4362 M. avenue, St. Louis.
Upon my arrival I found that I was at a church. When I entered the door I saw that the congregation was in great confusion, many of the people surrounding the platform, just in front of the pulpit, while others were moving about promiscuously. I pushed my way forward, and when I reached the platform, I found lying upon it one of my old friends and patrons, 0. J.
C, and upon a careful examination I pronounced him to be dead.
Mr. C. had been a member of a church organization denominated "The Four Fold Gospel Workers," who believe in the word of God (the Bible) in its entirety. Mr. C. had been a leader
in this church, and was engaged in conducting the services of the evening at the time the following sad event occurred.
Mr. C. was a very devotional, earnest kind of a man, honest and faithful in every regard, and believed in the literal interpretation of the Scriptures. He had opened the services by
requesting the audience to join him in singing the following verses:
One sweetly solemn thought Comes to me o'er and o'er, I'm nearer my home today, today, Than I have been before.
Chorus.--Nearer my home, nearer my home, Nearer my home today, today,
Than I have been before.
Nearer my Father's house, Where many mansions be,
Nearer the great white throne today, Nearer the crystal sea.
Chorus.--Nearer my home, nearer my home.
Nearer my home today, today, Than I have been before.
After the singing of the above lines he quoted the following passages of scripture:
"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear." I Peter, chap. 3, verse 15.
1. "Hear ye, children, the instruction of a Father, and attend to know understanding."
2. "For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law."
3. "For I was my Father's son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother."
4. "He taught me also, and said unto me, let thine heart retain my words; keep my commandments, and live." Prov. 4th.
Here Mr. C. stopped reading to comment upon the "life" referred to in the closing words of the last line of the reading. During this comment he touchingly referred to the death of his son, who had died some years previous. He described how the son had embraced him in his dying moments, and how he looked up into his face with such an expression of dependence and trust that none but a confiding child can imitate, and with his last breath exclaimed, "O, papa!
O, papa, give me life, give me life!"
When Mr. C. had finished this narrative he, himself, while standing on the platform, in front of the pulpit, turned his eyes toward heaven, and exclaimed, "Give me life, give me life!" Just as he pronounced the words "give me life," the second time, he suddenly fell forward upon the platform, dead!
The song, the reading, the story of the dying boy, the powerful suggestions of a life beyond, the vivid idea of a literal home in heaven, as Mr. C. honestly understood it, his gaze fixed upon some particular heavenly apartment, possibly his son occupying a place in it, all taken together, were more than his mortal frame could bear. The power of
thought--autosuggestion--separated his soul and body, and he was dead. Had he remained quietly at home on that eventful evening, he might have been living to this day, for he had not been ailing in any way--was not sick.
We had Mr. C.'s body well protected till we were quite certain that he was really dead. We did not permit any preparations of the body for burial till we were absolutely certain that life was extinct, lest somebody might say that Mr. C. was only in a trance.
But it is the friendly side of autosuggestion that interests us most, and one of the very best methods of using it is as follows:
No matter what we may need, let us carefully write out our wants in detail, covering
everything that may be desirable for us to enjoy, and then fold the paper, put it in an envelope, and place it under our pillow every night.
All the night-time, while we are sound asleep, the thoughts, the suggestions, the prayers, as written upon the paper, are resting with our subconscious soul minds, and the results are always good. I’ll say this is a good method of using autosuggestion, but it need not be used to the exclusion of the usual method of talking to ourselves at stated times--treating ourselves by autosuggestion.
Again, let us impress it upon the reader that auto-suggestion, to make it more perfectly successful, should be practiced regularly, at certain hours, and kept up persistently to the end--till we get what we want, never limiting ourselves to any time for attaining success.
Right here we would warn people against the habit of treating themselves all day long, constantly keeping their ailments or urgent wants before them. This is all wrong. We should have stated times for this work, and then do it and do it well, and then drop it and turn our attention away from ourselves, engage our minds in the social affairs or business matters of life, and go wherever duty calls us. At no time should we stop and regularly treat ourselves for anything during the busy business hours of the day, but we should wait till the proper time arranged for our treatment, and then devote ourselves wholly to the work. This need not hinder us, however, from being ever on the alert, by day and by night, to stoutly resist evil temptations that may come in our way, by quickly turning them aside and going on. It is the habit of constantly holding our frailties, ailments, or needs before us that we should
strenuously avoid.
As stated elsewhere, we can, by autosuggestion, make of ourselves what we want to be. If we aspire to be lawyers, ministers, musicians, artists, politicians, statesmen, builders, mechanics, teachers, bankers, or financiers of any kind, we need only to prepare ourselves
by acquiring the necessary education for the particular profession selected, and then daily look forward and see ourselves occupying the place or position desired, let nothing disturb or discourage us, or lead us off on by-ways, persistently move forward in straight lines, always and ever affirming and saying to ourselves, "I can cross the Alps," and "I will cross the Alps!"
In this way we may become eminent and useful at anything we undertake, and attain to any degree of success within the reach of human achievement.
It should be well remembered that in treating ourselves by auto-suggestion, we should always suggest what we want; and in talking to ourselves, as in making oral suggestions to others, we should express our wants in the simplest, plainest language at our command. No
particular set formulas are required. A simple, earnest statement of our wants or needs is all sufficient for success.
Auto-suggestion is not alone useful where people depend upon it altogether, but we can turn it to good account in having people use it while we are treating them by personal or absent treatment.
Some people seem to lack confidence in their own efforts, especially when not encouraged or supported by outside help. In fact, nearly everybody can help others by suggestion more than they can help themselves by autosuggestion. This should not be so; and it is not true in any case where the patient has full confidence in his own efforts, and regularly, earnestly and persistently does the work.
Hugo Munsterberg, in "Psycho-Therapy" gives an interesting case in autosuggestion.
Graining Success
The writer is a young woman of twenty-four, whom I did not know personally. She wrote to me as follows: "I am a writer by profession and during the last year and a half have been
connected with a leading magazine. In my work I was constantly associated with one man, the man- aging editor. This man exerted a very peculiar influence over me. With everyone else connected with the magazine, I was my natural self and at ease, but the minute this man came into the room I became an entirely different person, timid, nervous, and awkward, always placing myself and my work in a bad light. But under this man's influence, I did a great deal of literary work, my own and his, too. I felt that he willed me to do it. The effect of this influence was that I suffered constantly from deep fits of depression almost amounting to melancholia.
This lasted until last fall, when I felt that I should lose my mind if 1 stayed under his influence any longer. So I resigned my position and broke away. Then I felt like a person who, having a drug to stimulate him to do a certain amount of work, has that drug suddenly taken away, and without it I am unable to write at all ..." I wrote to the young lady that she could cure herself without hypnotism and without my personal participation. I urged her simply to speak to herself early in the morning and especially in the evening before going to sleep, and to say to herself that the man had never helped her at her work, but that she did it entirely of her own power, and that he never had any influence on it, and that she can write splendidly since she has left the place, and much better than before. A few months later she came to Cam- bridge and thanked me for the complete success which the auto-suggestive treatment had secured.
She was completely herself again and was fully successful in filling a literary position in which she had to write the editorials, the book reviews, the dramatic criticisms, and the social news.
As a matter of course, such treatment had removed only the symptom. The over-suggestible constitution had not been and could not be changed. Thus it was not surprising that in the meantime, while her full literary strength had come back, she had developed some entirely different symptoms of bodily character which I had to remove by hypnotism.
Win. M. Brown, M. D., in "Suggestion and Mental Analysis" gives the point of view of a
Win. M. Brown, M. D., in "Suggestion and Mental Analysis" gives the point of view of a